WWYD - commute into the city tonight...

[donthasslethehoff]

My husband is flying in from Chicago tonight at 7:05. Last minute my aunt asked if she could keep my daughter over night, so I was planning to try to surprise him at the airport when he gets off his flight then go to dinner somewhere in Boston. He has his own car at the airport, so I want to try to get there using the commuter rail so we don't have to deal with 2 cars.

There's a 5:06 train leaving Southborough that gets into S. Station at 6:09. I was planning to get on the silver line to the airport from there. Am I crazy to think that I could make it to the airport by 7:00? I am going to assume my commuter rail train will be on time, which I guess is a bold assumption at this point.

My other option is hopping a ride with my friend who works in Marlborough, but that would only get me to Comm ave by 6ish, then I would have to deal with green/orange/blue lines. I feel like this is way less likely to get me to the airport by 7.

Option 3 is trying like hell to get out of work early and get on the 4:21 train out of S-boro. I would think that this train is likely to NOT get cancelled/delayed since it's probably a train that needs to be in Boston by rush hour to turn around and go westbound...

[donthasslethehoff]

Thanks RockNVoll

Yea, I don't think it's crazy to be able to get between those places in 2 hours, but with the MBTA craziness, it's hard to make that call. And you're right - worst case, I just call him from S. Station and tell him that I am there and to come pick me up.

[donthasslethehoff]

Feb 13, 2015 9:48:53 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

I take the silver line to the airport from South Station all the time and its a quick trip. Its 15-20 minutes max (if that), and a lot of it is underground so snow shouldn't be an issue. I think you'll be fine!

What a nice surprise for your DH, have a great night!

I've never taken it. Where is the silver line terminal? Is it just right outside?

This makes me feel a lot better that it's a short ride. Even if the 5pm train is delayed a while, I should still be able to get to the airport in time...

[noodleoo]

Feb 13, 2015 9:48:53 GMT -5 scm1011 said:

I take the silver line to the airport from South Station all the time and its a quick trip. Its 15-20 minutes max (if that), and a lot of it is underground so snow shouldn't be an issue. I think you'll be fine!

What a nice surprise for your DH, have a great night!

Me too! The longest it has ever taken is like 30 mins. You'll be fine.  The stop is downstairs, follow th signs in SStation for silver line and make sure you get on the SL1 bus that says airport.  There are lots of signs! 

[donthasslethehoff]

Now...to figure out where to eat...

[dougthedogsmom]

I take the train from Southboro every day for work. This line has been cancelling a bunch of trains the past few days, so my only concern for you is that the train you are planning to take will be cancelled. They usually announce the cancellations at least an hour before the scheduled train, but last night they cancelled a few pretty last minute. Sorry to the bearer of bad news. But, I saw that train you are planning on taking yesterday at Southboro only a little late (10 minutes), so you may be good to go. And by that time, there are usually a few parking spots at the station. I can't get there any later than 7:15 and expect to find parking. However, the early people (5:00 am train) should already be done and their spots are open.

[dougthedogsmom]

All of my doom and gloom aside, I think that what you are planning is a really sweet idea and hope that you have fun. I have no experience with the silver line, but DH did this once and had no issues. He said it was an easy ride. If your train from Southboro is not cancelled, you should have a pretty smooth ride. Bring a book or something to do

[donthasslethehoff]

Feb 13, 2015 10:35:34 GMT -5 dougthedogsmom said:

All of my doom and gloom aside, I think that what you are planning is a really sweet idea and hope that you have fun. I have no experience with the silver line, but DH did this once and had no issues. He said it was an easy ride. If your train from Southboro is not cancelled, you should have a pretty smooth ride. Bring a book or something to do

I saw a bunch were cancelled this morning and delayed. Hopefully it's different for PM trains. My assumption is that a 4:21pm or 5:06pm train going inbound is likely a train that needs to be into Boston for rush hour and will be less likely to get delayed or cancelled. (I hope). I am going to try to leave work @3 so that I can get home, get a couple things done, and be at the station in time for the 4:21, but if miss it, or it's cancelled I can get on the 5:06 one...hopefully.

Any other time of the year I wouldn't give this situation an ounce of thought...

[dougthedogsmom]

That sounds like a good plan. If you do miss the 4:21 or it is cancelled, there is a DD down the street towards Rt 9. They won't cancel the 4:21 and the 5:06, so you should be good to go.

They cancelled the 5:20 and 5:30 trains from Boston yesterday. WTF? Why would you cancel 2 of the most heavily used commuter trains out of Boston?

[janegold]

Assuming your commuter rail is on time, that should be plenty of time to get to from South Station to the airport on the Silver Line; we take it all the time.

For some good places convenient to the airport, I'd check out places in and around Fort Point. Sportello, Blue Dragon and Row 34 are all good. There are a bunch of newer places right around there, too.

[donthasslethehoff]

Love row 34, mainly because they have a bunch of Trillium beers on tap. We actually drove by Blue Dragon the other day and didn't know what it was, until we asked a friend about it. I imagine it's probably going to be a pain in the ass to get into on a Friday night. Thanks janegold RockNVoll

[janegold]

You might also try Cinquecento or Gaslight, I always recommend these to OOTers. They're on the larger side and tend to have more reservations available. They also both have free on-site parking, which would be great since you'll have your car.